We present material resulting from a social survey conducted as part of the “Searching for and Testing Long-Term Sources of Financing for Social Cooperatives and Social Economy Enterprises” initiative, part of the project “Innovative System for Supporting the Development of the Social Economy in Southern Mazovia,” conducted by the Cooperation Fund Foundation in partnership with the National Ecological and Social Movement, the Kozienice Commune, the Pionki Commune, and the Szydłowiec Commune.
The overall goal of the study was to assess the social environment of the social cooperatives established under this project and to provide thematic analyses for the project’s Economic Committee, established by the Foundation. The study was planned and conducted to focus on the institutional and social perception of both the idea of the social economy and the emerging social cooperatives. This analysis considered the process of establishing cooperatives, the influence of the environment on this process, and the relationships between members of the initiative groups and their surroundings.
